Six seniors gain acceptance to Ivy League, prestigious universities

With the school year coming to a close, seniors across campus have been receiving acceptances from their future colleges and universities. This year, six seniors have stood out among the rest due to their acceptances and decision to attend various prestigious and Ivy League universities: Carlos Carrillo, Catherine Huang, Jason Lu, Edward Rivera, Kevin Tang, and Britney Ting. Carrillo was accepted into Yale University, Huang was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and Lu, Rivera, Tang, and Ting were accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); members from the group were also admitted to Brown, Cornell, University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA.

“I’m very proud of myself because I had worked so hard for four years, and it eventually led to this,” Tang said.

The six were surprised when they first received their acceptances since all of these prestigious universities were extremely competitive and had acceptance rates under 10 percent.

“MIT is considered to be a reach school for anyone that applies,” Tang said. “When I saw that I got accepted, I was so surprised that I had to reread the text a couple of times because I thought I had misread.”

Rivera said he felt “relief” upon learning about his acceptance, knowing that all of his hard work had come to fruition.

“I also felt that [the acceptance] confirmed my beliefs about myself,” Rivera said. “Empowering, yet I knew I had to continue working harder than ever before.”

Along with the top-tier education and diverse social environment provided by the universities, the acceptees also look forward to their out-of-state experience on the East Coast, where the universities are located.

“I’m glad to have options to attend school outside of California,” Ting said. “I’ve never been outside of California, so this is an exciting opportunity, but I’m kind of scared of how cold it’ll be on the East Coast. I don’t handle the cold very well.”

Ting encouraged future seniors to try to apply to prestigious universities, even despite the low chances of getting accepted.

“Don’t be afraid to apply to reach schools,” Ting said. “I personally wish I applied to more and started on my [applications] earlier. It’s always good to try even if you don’t think you’ll make it.”

In addition, Huang advised future seniors to look into and apply for college exploration programs. She believes that her attendance of UPenn’s Penn Early Exploration Program was a factor in her acceptance.

“I highly recommend seniors to take advantage of any fly-in programs that universities offer,” Huang said. “They are usually in the beginning of the school year, but keep an eye out early.”